Local students compete in Poetry Out Loud

Tuesday

Feb 28, 2012 at 12:01 AMFeb 28, 2012 at 6:55 AM

Students from Acton-Boxborough, Algonquin, Framingham, Lincoln-Sudbury, Needham, Newton North and Waltham high schools, and the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough, are among those taking part in this year's statewide "Poetry Out Loud'' competition.

Staff reports

Students from Acton-Boxborough, Algonquin, Framingham, Lincoln-Sudbury, Needham, Newton North and Waltham high schools, and the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough, are among those taking part in this year's statewide "Poetry Out Loud'' competition.

Regional competitions for the 72 semi-finalists will be held this weekend at sites including the Framingham Temple Association, 404 Concord St., Framingham, and the Boston Center for the Arts, at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The winners from those contests, along with the winners of Sunday events in Springfield and South Yarmouth, will advance to the state finals at Boston's Old South Meeting House on Sunday, March 11.

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation competition that celebrates the power of the spoken word and a mastery of public speaking skills while cultivating self-confidence and an appreciation of students’ literary heritage as they take poetry from the page to the stage.

A record 20,000 students from high schools across the state competed in recent months in classroom and schoolwide competitions.

The Massachusetts Poetry Out Loud winner receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national finals. The Huntington Theater facilitates the Massachusetts competition with support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.